If you love surfing and snowboarding I have great news – in this article you will receive a surfing workout that will also greatly improve your conditioning and fitness.
I recently returned from surfing on snow in Japan and luckily scored incredible powder. Even better, my body held up strong – all day long. The crew I was boarding with were riding pretty hard and fast (including off-piste guides) and they wanted to know how to improve their conditioning for better performance, especially leg strength and endurance. So how did I prepare?
First things first
If you want to gently snowboard down reasonable slopes and perform basic turns while gravity pulls you down the mountain, then snowboard strength and conditioning may not improve your performance by a large percentage. However, if you want to push your limits, tear the mountain up and defy gravity (i.e. falling and impacting the ground at speed with a mindset to repeat and improve) then sport specific fitness training prior to being on the mountain, will have a huge impact on performance and recovery. And lets face it, faster recovery means more energy, less physical pain and the more fun on the mountain regardless of your ability or athletic dreams.
Second things second
Your physical body (how if functions) is very dependent on skeletal alignment. If you perform any surfing or snowboarding conditioning exercises with a misaligned body – any training may exacerbate the misalignment and thus be counter productive. It’s like trying to surf a twin fin at a right-hand point break yet the left fin is missing. No amount of surfing will improve the situation – you must get that left fin corrected first, so the board can line up on take-off.
So… always check your alignment with a professional coach or therapist and then get into the following surfing workout that will also greatly improve your conditioning and fitness.
The following is one of my GO TO surfing and snowboarding body weight training routines.
The Work Out
• Yoga Toe Squat - 30 seconds hold - 15 seconds rest x two
• Burpees - 45 seconds
• Lateral Floor Squat Left and Right - 1 minute
• Press Up into Side T Plank eight - 10 per side
• Three Pulse Squats into 180 Degree Turn Jump - 1 minute
• Pilates Floor Swim - 1 minute
• Ball Roll into Stand Up Tall x six – eight
Aim for one circuit to take 8-9 minutes. Rest as little as possible – keep flowing – keep moving. Repeat the entire circuit two times. I believe surfing workouts want to be performed correctly with excellent technique and alignment at all times. Please keep that in mind. I also believe in the principle that short and sharp training sessions can deliver just as much results when performed correctly. However please note that repetitions and set-times for exercises can vary greatly according to athletic abilities and fitness levels. This is a starting point. Oh...please get medical clearance prior to performing this or any exercise regime. But you know this already.
I reiterate because it is important – I believe surfing workouts elicit the best results when performed with excellent technique and alignment at all times. Please keep that in mind, now go rip it up.
Hayden Rhodes (Club Manager of Phukets Finest Health Club) is the creator of Surf Training Secrets. If you love surfing or snowboarding and want to get surf fit fast and build a body to last, go visit SurfTrainingSecrets.com
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